Solution
by ColorsAndVoices
Summary: Soon after the events of A Last Obstacle, the Bad Wolf offers the Doctor a solution to one of his biggest problems. Now all that's left is to find out what Rose will think.
1. An Idea

AN: Alright. This one goes just after _A Last Obstacle_, and will include the Bad Wolf's solution to said obstacle. Just a heads up, this is planned out as two chapters.

This is part of The Bad Wolf Chronicles, and anyone interested in the rest of that can visit my profile for a list of its stories in chronological order. (Because I will post out of order.)

As always, hope you like.

-AutumnxAngel

Disclaimer: Look, if you recognize it, guess what: It's not mine

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They had just returned from another mad adventure: saving worlds, running for their lives, the usual. The Tardis had been once more launched into the swirling Vortex, and everything was calm.

They were sitting in the control room, silence reigning between them. The only sound in the room was the soft hum of the Tardis. The Doctor was in the captain's chair; Rose was lounging on the floor. She held a book above her head so that some light from beneath the grating illuminated the pages, reading intently, and occasionally laughing at something that amused her. He sat in the dim green light of the console, watching her.

When a grin lit her face, he felt his hearts constrict. She was so beautiful, so innocent, laying there reading some alien book the Tardis had translated for her. He watched her mouth twitch with a laugh and felt himself smile in response. He loved that about her: when she was happy, it made him happy.

His eyes then traveled down her slim form, entirely of their own accord. He took in her jawline and throat, unaccountably seized by the desire to run two fingers down the line his eyes had followed. He noted the slow, steady rise and fall of her breasts with each breath she took. Listening carefully, his attention focused solely on her, he found he could hear her heart beating within her chest. It wasn't as good as listening with his ear pressed against her skin, something he had recently discovered he enjoyed very much, but it was still good.

He carefully wrenched his eyes back up to her face, but was only immediately distracted by her mouth. He caught himself wanting to run his hand over her face and follow it up with his lips. He remembered the feel of her skin against his, not too unrecently really. He stifled a moan.

Since her return, he'd promised to explore a relationship. He knew that neither of them had realized how much they loved each other until they thought they'd never see each other again. It was his full intention to make the best of their reunion, he just wasn't sure how at this point. He understood that she hoped for more than the words and soft kisses he could give. He also understood that he couldn't give her more without hurting her.

He'd never really wanted to be human, not for any more than sheer curiosity. For her though. . . For her he wished they weren't so different. It was nothing obvious to someone just looking at them. He looked human enough. For someone who knew them though, the differences were vast.

Physically, he felt she could match him, at least in any way that mattered. It was his mind that would hurt her. He refused to let that happen.

His determination was their deadlock. They'd gone as far as possible in their relationship, and it wasn't near enough. It was so far from enough that it hurt.

She laughed again and he snapped out of his melancholy thoughts. He briefly wondered why she chose to lay _there_ in particular. The grate didn't look all that comfortable. She seemed happy enough though, buried in the pages of a book.

He sighed, wishing it was that easy for him to loose himself. Wishing he could live within another's imagination, just for a little while. Instead he was here, staring at the girl he loved, wanting her so badly, and unable to do anything about it.

He stood, stretching, feeling his back crack with slight satisfaction.

Her gaze ran to the end of the line she'd been reading and turned up to him. The book closed, her finger still between its pages, marking her spot.

"Leaving me?" She was vaguely curious but not overly so.

He grinned, intentionally misinterpreting her words. "Never."

His answer made her smile. He wondered if he was selfish for wanting her to smile just so he could see the brilliance in her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

"That's good." She told him, her eyes still shining.

A moment passed in which her face told him how much she meant that.

She broke it with a mock-stern expression. "Don't get lost in the Tardis."

He was immediately the picture of an indignant Time Lord. "I only ever did that once!" He glared at her and affected a sullen look that reminded her of a puppy. "It wasn't even my fault. I can't help it if she switched the halls about in the middle of the night."

Rose just giggled. He was right. She knew because it had been mostly her fault. "I'm just saying." Her voice was patronizing but he could hear the laughter under it. She went back to her book, pretending to ignore him.

Just for that, he went over to where she lay, kneeling above her head. She tilted her face back to look at him, one eyebrow raised. He suppressed a smile and leaned down, caressing her upside-down face between his palms.

"And I'm just saying, you asked for this." He murmured, watching her shiver before leaning down to press his lips to hers.

She let the feel of him so close to her flood her senses, enjoying his scent and the feel of his hands on her face and his lips against hers. Even if he was upside-down. Maybe it was a Time Lord thing. It was probably just a Doctor thing.

Then he was gone, the air separating them once more. He smiled and brushed a thumb down her soft cheek. She shivered with the feel of his not-quite-rough fingertip grazing over her cheekbone. That made him grin wider.

"I'll see you later." He stood, leaving a noticeable emptiness in the air around her. "Enjoy the book." He turned and walked away from her, his feet making only the lightest sound on the metal grate. She watched him go, a small, content grin gracing her lips, her head still upside down.

She went back to her story and he walked down the familiar corridors.

As he walked, he mulled over their relationship, trusting his ship to get him to the right place without his attention. He of all people should know that nothing is impossible, yet he couldn't figure this out. They had been separated for so long. Now they were back together and still this thing divided them.

He growled quietly in frustration and focused on his surroundings in an attempt to distract himself.

The room he sought was a refuge. He knew that _she_ often wandered there. It was her place and mirrored exactly what she wanted. She didn't have to remain on the ship: a physical form wasn't necessary, but she apparently enjoyed it. It was only rarely that she was gone, and then not for long. She enjoyed being on the physical ship. The house of the soul of the Bad Wolf. The part of her that often lived in a human-like body seemed to appreciate things like that.

When he entered the room, she was there. She was always there when he came.

The room was small today, and completely empty. It was square, probably about ten feet from one wall to the opposite. The walls were black, the floor and ceiling pure white. There was nothing remarkable about it today, though the color scheme was a bit dramatic.

He closed the door gently and walked over to where she sat, leaning against the wall. He sat next to her, leaning back a little too fast. His head hit the wall and he winced.

She had been watching him carefully, though without much effort, since he came in. When his head cracked back into the wall, one of her eyebrows lifted slightly, though that was the only trace of emotion on her face. She idly wondered if it had hurt.

He plucked the thought from the air where she had let it drift. His answer slipped softly into the room. "Yes."

The corners of her mouth curved up slightly in understanding. It had hurt. It had also helped. Her eyes left him for the first time since his arrival as she tipped her head back against the wall, more carefully than he had, staring up through the ceiling.

It shifted, the change happening so quickly that it would seem to an onlooker that rather than change, the ceiling had always been as it was now. In place of the white that had never been, there were now stars. A galaxy of them.

The colors swirled and a planet loomed into view. It was a relatively small planet, but it loomed large in the endless ceiling of her room.

Earth. Not the Earth she had come from. This was a better one. She liked it more.

The white clouds in its atmosphere swirled lazily over its blues and greens. The sun shone brightly on this side of it, lighting everything up brilliantly.

The Doctor smiled. He loved it when she shared moments like this. He loved looking at the colors she saw behind her eyes.

When her gaze came back down, it met his, and he could see the planets spinning in her pupils. She grinned, scooting across the small space between them in a very undignified manner. She lifted his arm and draped it over her shoulders, leaning her head against his chest.

"Tell my why you're sad." Her voice was soft and, in the silence of the room, he could hear the song behind it.

"I want to love her." He whispered, burying his face in her hair. She understood that he meant more than just in his hearts. "I want to give her everything she wants and the thing she seems to want so much is entirely beyond my power. I can't be with her and not hurt her. I just want to. I need her to feel exactly what she means to me." His voice was sad and soft. She disapproved of the acceptance she could hear at the edge of his words.

Her eyes closed and her mind pushed into his. He let her do it, let her see how much he loved his Rose. How badly he wanted to show the girl how deeply that love ran. She looked, flipping through his mind as though it were the pages of a book. She was delicate in her search though, for all the briskness. She was careful not to make him the slightest bit uncomfortable.

He wouldn't have really cared if she had. She already knew the secrets he kept there. There was nothing in him that she had not seen and felt in her own mind. He belonged to her. Just as she belonged to him.

Her search ended and she withdrew, silent, considering. He allowed her her thoughts, waiting. His face was buried in her short-cropped hair and he could smell the Vortex on her, like a perfume. He let it wash through his senses, blurring out the pain.

After a brief time that seemed like much longer, her thoughts began to pour out into the air around them. He listened closely, attentively, understanding the ideas she didn't know how to put to words. Her song poured through his mind as something made her very excited.

When she pushed away to sit in front of him, her eyes shone bright with the Vortex and the stars. "I know how to do it." A grin lit up her face, which had been dark in the glow of her eyes. "_I_ can do it. I can protect her mind."

He was a little skeptical, afraid of what could happen if she was wrong. What _would _happen if she was wrong.

She felt his hesitancy, the fears that flashed across his mind dancing in the air before him. She leaned forward and took his face between her hands, forcing him to look into her bright eyes.

"Don't doubt me. I can protect her." She could feel his resistance crumbling. "I _will_ protect her. For you. For the two of you."

His last bit of fight was dissipating as she pressed her idea into his mind. Her next words, echoing loud in the air around them, decided him.

"Doctor. You can show her how much she means. You can do exactly what you want to her and she will be okay." She became impossibly brighter when an eager smile drifted onto his features. She added a suggestive tone to her last argument. "Actually, she'll probably be more than okay."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, tasting her happiness on her lips and mind. "Thank you." He whispered, drawing away. "Thank you my Bad Wolf."

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AN: Look for the next chapter. Also, reviews make me happy, and happiness makes me write faster, just so you know.

Btw: If the relationship between the Doctor and the Bad Wolf is a little odd right now, it'll make more sense when I post the stuff from earlier in the chronology. My apologies for current strangeness.


	2. Consummation

AN: Yay! Chapter 2! Took me long enough huh? I'm sorry it took so long but I was busy with some midterms in school. Yuck. Also, no reviews on the last chapter equals low motivation to write. I blame you people. Anyway, despite all else, here it is.

Huge thanks to totally.doctor.who and Atheniandream for taking the time to review. You people are awesome.

Finally, I think the rating on this chapter should probably go up to M. Only to be safe, not till the end, and nothing really bad, just be warned of what's ahead.

Hope it's you like. AutumnxAngel

Disclaimer: Look, if you recognize it, guess what: It's not mine.

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The Doctor bounded into the control room with more than his usual bounce. Rose looked up just in time to see him practically skid to a stop beside her, almost loosing his footing in the process. She set her book aside, marking her spot with a post-it she had nicked from the Doctor earlier. Feeling indulgent toward his obvious excitement, she reached up so he could pull her to her feet.

He responded accordingly, pulling her not only to her feet, but flush against his body and spinning her around and around. When he stilled, she was giggling helplessly at his mood and leaned her head against his shoulder. He was still for a moment, letting her catch her conspicuously absent breath. Another moment passed before his control began to waver and Rose could feel him start to bounce slightly on the balls of his feet.

She leaned back, a smile still bright on her face, and ran her fingers down from his shoulders to twine them once more with his. His eyes were shining so happily that she felt her breath hitch. She couldn't recall seeing him this happy since her return.

"Rose Tyler," his excitement was leaking through his voice. "I am going to take you to a moon with a brilliant blue sea and we are going to watch a sun set and a planet rise. When you are breathless with awe I am going to sweep you off your feet and show you everything you have always wanted to know about a Time Lord's body."

It took her only a moment to process his words before her eyes went wide. "But I thought…." One of his hands came up to cover her mouth gently and his grin was the slightly manic one she loved.

"Not anymore. I think I've just found a way past the latest version of impossible." He was smug and still grinning but she saw apprehension flicker in his expression.

One of her eyebrows lifted slightly: her request for more information.

He sighed a little and led her to the worn seat by the console. When they were sitting comfortably, he faced her, excitement still in his eyes, but subdued now by the worry that she wouldn't like the option he was about to give them.

"You know how the Tardis is alive right?" He began a little nervously, waiting for her confirmation before going on. "Well, she's strongly telepathic, and she says she can protect your mind if we, um, danced. The only down side is that you'll have to let her into your mind. If you want to do it, it'll be a bit personal. If not, we can keep looking for a way." He stopped speaking, aware that he was about to start rambling, and looked at her with a little hope and a little fear.

Rose thought for a moment, watching the hope in the Doctor's eyes fade a little bit at her pause. She understood that when he said personal, he meant it; that a telepathic link like that would lay bare any secrets she had. On the other hand, she knew the Bad Wolf, had been a part of her creation, and trusted her as deeply as she trusted the Doctor.

She had made her choice. She would be with him no matter what it took.

Looking up into the Doctor's face, Rose nodded. "If she can do it, it's okay with me." He looked in her eyes for a moment more, seeking assurance. Finding it, he grinned hugely, hugged her and pulled her to her feet.

"In that case, follow me Rose Tyler, I want you to meet someone." He led her down the corridors his feet had traced earlier until they reached the door he sought. He knocked this time before leading her in.

The room had changed dramatically since his last visit. It now both appeared and felt endless. In the ceiling, galaxies swirled. The front part of the room was dominated by a large fireplace. A large throw rug lay before the low fire, surrounded by several soft looking couches. Beyond the front of the room, bookshelves lined with books from across the universe went back into the darkness of the rest of the room.

He led her to one of the seats (which were every bit as comfortable as they appeared), and when they looked up again, the Bad Wolf was sitting on the edge of the carpet, close enough to the fire that her clothes should be burning, her eyes focused on them intently.

"Rose," the Doctor's voice was the strangest mix of soft, and solemn, and joyous. "I want you to meet FaeRroHaas. The Bad Wolf. Soul of my Tardis." His eyes flickered between the two women, gauging reactions.

The Bad Wolf smiled a little, watching Rose, who grinned in response. "I believe we did this a bit backwards." The Bad Wolf's eyes were twinkling with amusement as a confused look stole over the Doctor's face. "Aren't people supposed to meet before they know each other as well as we do?" Her smile slipped into a grin to match Rose's.

The Doctor looked a bit confused as he stared first at the Bad Wolf, then at Rose. "Why do I have the strong impression that I'm missing something?"

Rose took pity on him and explained. "The Bad Wolf and I met a long time ago. Don't you remember Satellite 5 and all those little hints before that?"

He blinked a few times. "Yes, I just didn't think _you_ did."

Her smile was soft now. "I didn't 'til she reminded me. I still don't have all of it, just enough."

"You didn't honestly expect me to leave her alone did you?" The Bad Wolf chimed in. "A girl needs companionship other than that of a slightly manic Time Lord." She chuckled a little and stood, ignoring the continued look of astonishment on the Doctor's face.

When she was directly in front of Rose, she knelt on the floor. "Are you sure about this? I will have the ability to see everything. Every thought and emotion, even those you don't recognize yourself. I will try to stay away from everything personal, but I cannot promise anything." She pushed a loose strand of hair behind Rose's ear, looking directly into her eyes. She could feel the intensity of the Doctor's gaze staring into them both. "You need to know exactly what this means, because once I do it, the only way to reverse it is extremely painful and I don't ever want to do that to you."

Rose nodded. The Bad Wolf's hands came up to rest careful fingers on her temples. The girl shivered a little and closed her eyes. "Do I need to do anything?"

"No." When she opened her eyes again, the Bad Wolf was still looking back. "Just sit and let me into your mind. It'll be a little uncomfortable, but don't fight it. It'll only take a moment." Rose felt the Doctor shift away so he was no longer in contact with her body and glanced over at him.

He met her gaze as fire exploded behind her eyes. Her body jerked and her eyes clenched shut. From the fire, a word became distinguishable. "Rose….."

A bit of the Bad Wolf's mind seared over her own, emotion surging over the connection for less than the blink of an eye before it was gone.

Despite the brevity of the touch, the power of the emotion left Rose breathless. She had thought she understood love before. Her emotions for the Doctor were certainly stronger than some simple crush. She had believed the ache in her chest and the almost overwhelming desire to just be with him constituted love. She was right in some ways. She had in fact felt love.

Now she felt what it was to burn, and her human love seemed pale in comparison.

More words sounded in her mind. "Don't think that. Your love for him is just as strong, it is just different. It is still every bit as much as my own love for him."

The flame was gone then, leaving only a warm haze in its wake. Rose felt herself falling, then the Doctor's arms wrapped around her, anchoring her to him.

She opened her eyes and watched as the Doctor spoke briefly with the Bad Wolf. She heard the idea of privacy mentioned in his warm voice, then the Bad Wolf's voice slid into focus. "….stay out of Rose's mind entirely unless otherwise invited. I will only pose a barrier between your minds, but I will strictly distance myself. I promise you as much privacy as you would have otherwise."

"Thank you."

"You must remain in this room until I understand what it will take to protect her. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." There was a smile in his voice. "Wish I had been able to show her that moon like I said I would."

"Maybe you can. In a manner of speaking." The Bad Wolf sounded smug and the colors in the room shifted a bit. "Enjoy your evening."

The Bad Wolf was gone. The Doctor looked down at the girl in his arms.

"Hello."

Rose smiled lazily and reached behind his head to pull his mouth down to hers. "I've waited far too long for this moment. Shut up and make love to me."

The Doctor grinned and kissed her until she saw stars other than the ones slightly visible in the not-quite-ceiling. "A bit eager are we?" His teasing was gentle.

"I said shut up." She grabbed his tie with her free hand and pulled him back to her. He took her challenge and the following moments were somewhat lost in feeling.

Clothes were shed.

The couch was abandoned in favor of the very soft carpet.

The fire was gone save for the glowing embers but the light being reflected down from the planet above them gave them all the illumination they needed. The walls and bookshelves had faded, expanding on the scene above them.

Some time later, their exploration slowed and he pressed her body beneath him; every inch of his body that could be was perfectly pressed against every inch of hers. Anyone who looked at the places where there bodies met would find it impossible to say where one ended and the other began.

Despite the Bad Wolf's protection, she could still feel the shadow of his mind brushing against her own. He was burning brilliantly, sending shots of color and emotion through her mind until she had only the barest trace of conscious thought remaining.

When he pulled back slightly, she whimpered a protest, something that whispered in his mind as well as his ears. He smirked slightly and his eyes stared into hers. His eyes had dilated until there was no more of the familiar warm brown color, just the black of his pupils in which she could almost see the birth and death of every star and planet in the universe.

"Are you ready?" He shone like the sun and his voice was soft and breathless. He was panting slightly, every rise of his chest making his skin brush against hers. "I'm going to teach you to fly Rose Tyler. I'm going to pull you over the edge of the universe."

She wanted to scream that she was ready, to beg him to touch her and let her touch him back. The words were not enough and would not pass her lips. It didn't matter when he could hear her in his mind.

Leaning his forehead against hers, holding her gaze with his, and wrapping his lean but muscled arms around her shoulders to hold her close, the Doctor sank into his Rose.

She gasped, silently, her eyes closing involuntarily. She could feel his mind sink into her along with his body, covering her in a hazy swirl of color and light that she somehow recognized as emotions.

He settled into her, not overly slowly, but taking his own sweet time, and when he was entirely inside her, body and mind, he stilled. The last part of her mind that was vaguely coherent marveled at the perfect match his body made to hers. She understood in a flash of absolute clarity, well defined amid the haze, that the size of him was entirely unimportant (contrary to the belief of humans she had known, and ignoring the fact that several of them would have been jealous) to the fact that he fit her body perfectly. Where they met it was as though they had been carved from each other at the beginning of time and had now rejoined in seamless union.

When he felt this thought on her mind, a quiet hum rolled through his body, making her tremble as it rolled through her as well. His face slipped away from hers so that his mouth hovered by her ear. He made a low, primal, growling sound that came from far too deep in his chest and throat for a human to be able to mimic it. It made her shiver, as did his next words.

"Rose…." He inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of her skin. "I want to do something right now that will make this far more than a human relationship. I want to mark you as mine for all of time." Another growl rumbled up from the depth of his chest. "Tell me to stop or we can never go back. Stop me and we can be like two humans, otherwise…" He trailed off.

She pressed her cheek against his, her breath warm on his ear. "Don't…" Her hands trailed up his sides to tangle in his hair.

He buried his face in her neck, the rest of his body pressing more firmly into hers. His reply sounded more like a growl than a word. "Okay." His tongue ran up her throat to just below her jaw where he placed a kiss that almost burned her.

"No." She corrected him. "Don't stop." He pulled away slightly at her words, needing to see the truth in her face. "I don't want it to be human, it has never been human. No human could ever call me his the way you do." His hands tightened almost convulsively on her shoulders.

"You're sure?" He shifted slightly and she gasped. He pressed down on her and focused on her mind. He had to be sure.

She looked at him, brilliance in her eyes. He could see her certainty, but he had to hear the words out loud. "Say you're sure. Tell me you'll be mine forever."

She brought her hands forward to grip his face. "I'm yours. If I have to tell you that again…." She trailed off, pulling his head back down to hers. He accepted her offer, fusing his mouth to hers.

When she pulled away for breath, he grinned and trailed his nose and mouth down her neck to just beside her collarbone. "This is gonna hurt." He warned her in a low voice. "I'm sorry."

He moved then, in both her body and her mind. Her head fell back and his mouth opened against her skin. The growl rose in his throat again as he bit down. She could feel the painful burn where his teeth had broken her skin, but it was drowned in the pleasure of his body moving within hers.

He broke away and was kissing her again, pulling her higher and higher into ecstasy.

Just as she was sure she was about to fall, he pulled her time to a stop. His torso and arms were tense around her as he held them there, teetering on the edge. He held onto the moment, stretching it out longer and longer.

Then he gave and that moment passed to the next as he threw them both over the edge of the universe, reveling in his name on her lips as they fell into sweet oblivion.

Some time later, it could have been hours or days or years and neither would have noticed, Rose pulled herself back to consciousness and opened her eyes to meet those of the Doctor.

"Hello." He whispered softly. He made to move but her arms came up to wrap around him. He stopped and looked at her curiously.

"Please stay?" Her voice was a little slurred. "You feel so….good." She tried to come up with a word to describe the perfection of having him just where he was, his body warm and comforting around and within her. With nothing adequate, she settled on the word good, knowing that he would understand it meant more here than it could ever mean to anyone else.

He smiled and shifted just a little to drape his weight over and around her so that she would be comfortable. His thumb drifted over the mark he had left beside her collarbone. It had healed almost instantly into a scar that consisted of four small crescents, evenly spaced to create a circle. Within the circle, chemicals from his body had burned a series of miniscule swirls that were his name. It looked a little like a tattoo. He imagined she would want to examine it in a mirror later.

For now though, he just wanted to lay with her. And that's just what they did for a good while, enjoying perfection, both knowing that something had started that would be better than fantastic.

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AN: Well? Let me know your thoughts. I'm not posting again till I have some feedback to go on, so do your part and I'll make sure you get some more stories.

Btw, FaeRroHaas is my word for the Bad Wolf. I made it to mean Dark Moon-Dog. It's the name the Bad Wolf tells the Doctor before the events of Parting of the Ways, as it would mess with cannon for him to be familiar with the name "Bad Wolf" before that.


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